Striker Unit
A Striker Unit is pair of hybrid mechanical/magical propeller devices used by Witches for flight and worn over their legs. They are rigid, preventing movement of the knees, but can be disengaged on the field if needed. When wearing a Striker a Witch's power is vastly increased by a magic engine in the unit, resulting in the constant manifestation of their animal ears and tails. It grants them the powers of high speed flight, increased physical abilities, and the ability to raise defensive shields. It was improved by Miyafuji Yoshika's father, Miyafuji Ichiro, in the 1930s. Other Striker Unit versions Jet Strikers Etherjet Strikers were invented by researchers in Karlsland. They are faster than an average striker unit. However, only witches with strong magical capabilities as well as support from their familiar can safely use them. Land Strikers Land Strikers are a special type of Striker Unit. Unlike the air infantry Strikers, which by necessity must direct much of the magic engine output to flight magic, land combat Strikers instead place much more emphasis on shields, firepower, and boosting physical abilities. The strength of their shields, and the firepower of their main cannons, are far beyond those of air infantry witches, and their operation times are also longer. In other words, flight magic consumes an enormous amount of magic power, which is used in other ways by land combat Strike Witches. While it depends on the model, land Strikers are usually capable of a maximum speed of about 30 km/h. For traveling long distances, trains and railroads are normally used. There are two modes of operation, bipedal and tracked modes. Regularly, Witches walk with the "feet" part of the Striker, including when engaging in combat. However, when in need of faster speed, they can also utilize the tracks equipped on the Striker Units to attain said maximum speed. These tracks can be exposed by retracting the "feet" part of the Striker Units. Backpacked Strikers Striker Units that were used before the new models were introduced before the Second Neuroi War. It is unknown when they are invented but it was probably after the First Neuroi War.(This statement can be altered) They are powered by an extra backpack which reduces space and probably affected flight. It is mostly based on interwar period fighters such as Bf109 and Ki-10 and has much lower top speed. However, they were sometimes more agile than the new Striker Units due to its lightweight nature. Known users of this old model were Kitagou Fumika(Nagashima A4N) and Adolfine Galland(Bf109). Any witch that had been fighting before the Second Neuroi War had probably used this model before. Prototype Strikers During the early development of Dr. Ichiro Miyafuji's work several Prototypes were developed by several counties. During this time many problems occurred that helped further the research and development of what would become the Striker Units that would fight the second Neuroi war. One problem that was found was that, unlike the Backpacked Strikers, the new ones had a far greater age limitation for witches to use. While a witch could use a Backpack Striker well into their 20's, the new ones had an age limit of 19-21 years of age. The early prototypes also had a flaw that carried into the first production Striker Units of using a great amount of magical energy. Many witches burned out their entire lifetime of magical power during the development phase. Prototypes that were developed during and post second Neuroi war also had their fair share of complications. During the Romagnaian occupation by the Neuroi, Ursula Hartmann developed the first Jet Striker Unit prototype, the ME-262 Swallow, which was delivered to the 501st JFW for testing. It was initially tested by Romagnaian witch Francesca Lucchini who, shortly after starting it, felt something was wrong with the unit and leaped out. It was therefore handed off the Gertrude Barkhorn. Initial testing looked promising. The 262 set a new altitude record of 16,000+ meters. Its second test for armament and firepower, was also a success, but it quickly became apparent that it drains the witch of stamina. During its third test of speed Barkhorn fainted and crashed into the Adriatic sea. It was discovered then that the 262 had a fatal flaw that made it too dangerous to fly. After waking up Barkhorn was quoted as saying "Prototypes and trouble go hand in hand." The Prototype was then locked away and was scheduled to be sent back for further development. However after scrambling to intersect a Neuroi, it was soon discovered to be too fast and maneuverable even for Liberion Witch Charlotte E. Yeager. Barkhorn, defying orders not to use it, broke into the hanger and took off in the 262. She arrived just in time to save Yeager from being caught between two section of the Neuori which had surrounded her. She quickly dispatched the Neuroi, but soon fainted again. The 262 started to accelerate uncontrollably and would soon drain Barkhorn of all her magical powers and subsequently crash and kill her. However thanks to some quick thinking and going supersonic again for only the second time, Yeager was able to catch up and pull the emergency release cable on the 262. The 262 Striker Unit detached from Barkhorn and subsequently fell to its destruction. The remains of it were sent back with Ursula Hartmann. Post war, development of Jet Strikers became the main focus of development Category:Bucket